Free Climbing
by daydreaming-reality
Summary: Carolina is solo climbing when an accident causes time to get twisted around her and she gets thrown back to a time of legend. If she becomes a Mary Sue y'all can give me a swift kick on the ass.
1. Prologue

I don't own LOTR I wish I could.

SOLO climbers are thought to be a bit odd by the rest of the rock climbing community, to say nothing about the rest of society. Cool as a cucumber as the climb a rock wall at a height that could cause certain death, but put them in a room with more than five strangers and they find the closest wall to blend in with. So it's no wonder that the day after one of her mothers obnoxiously large parties that Carolina could have been found on a cliff that was an old friend to her. It was a nice day with out the danger of any wind trying to peel her off the rock face. She had only her chalkbag, iPod, and climbing shoes with her and was about half way up the cliff. It was freeing to her, calming, a type of physical meditation. Her moves were smooth and graceful as she methodically made her way upwards. Occasionally she would stop to shake out her arms to prevent the build-up of lactic acid. Carolina was in her element, nothing short of a catastrophe could shake her from her climb.

A few years before Carolina's birth humanity's best chance at faster-than-light travel had finally been developed. It involved extremely complicated machinery and the use of other dimensions. Dimensions of the same space compacted together to allow for faster travel. This opened up many possibilities for the sciences. Scientists began to hypothesize about what going through the many dimensions could cause. One in particular that if a ship hit a the highest and most hazardous band of dimensions that the ship would end up flipping itself back in time. However the scientist that theorized this did not take into effect the earth's gravitational pull might have on said ship. Currently unknown to Carolina a space ship is doing just that right above her head.

Carolina had made it to rather tricky part of her cliff when catastrophe did take place. As the tremor went through Carolina's body the tenuous toehold she had popped off. Simultaneously both hands were next to go, a lightheaded feeling flooded her as what sounded like wind roared in her ears. The atmosphere shook above her and as she was closely approaching terminal velocity Carolina's brain registered that she was about to die. There was no surviving a fall like this. If she wasn't already a dead woman her mother would kill her.

Carolina sucked in a deep breath. She decided not to close her eyes, instead she stared at the sky memorizing the color. It was then that she noticed what had caused the tremor. The explosion was distorted by the atmosphere but nevertheless the colors expanded in a frighteningly beautiful way directly above her. What had exploded though? Only when Carolina started to see the tops of the trees flash by her she finally did close her eyes. Not many wish to face their death with eyes wide open.

The effect of gravity twisted the ship's uncontrolled and suicidal ascent through the various dimensions. Patches of the ship did go back in time only to fall on the uneducated people of out previous world and be labelled as parts of a UFO. The effects of this spatial contortion made it through the atmosphere, many people were thrown violently back in time. Carolina was included in this number, but none of the others would travel nearly as far as her.

* * *

I got inspired by two things, David Weber's _Apocalypse Troll _and Tolkien's idea that he was writing a history of the world.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time she opened her eyes Carolina stared up at a dark sky. A few minutes passed before her brain managed to comprehend the fact that she was in fact able to think. In addition to consciousness Carolina could wiggle all her appendages. For a few minutes she just lay there and let the exploding sky replay in her mind over and over again.

Even as her toes started to cramp from the tightness found in all climbing shoes Carolina still lay there stunned. Soft grass cushioned her back and the only time Carolina had seen so many stars was when she was rigged up on the side of a big wall on an overnight ascent. But the stars above her were arranged in patterns that she had never seen before. There was no cliff in above her, nor any pine trees. Carolina had no idea where she was.

One thing was for sure she didn't think this was an afterlife. She had survived death. (It had yet to be determined whether or not this would be a good thing.)

It was a strange noise that finally made Carolina react. It was a cross between a shriek and the kind of yip a hyena made when it was excited. The sound sent shivers down her back and made her sit bolt upright. Instinct set in and Carolina went through her options as she quickly shucked her shoes.

To her immediate left was a river but a good distance off was a forest. The river was wide but there was a possibility it was slow enough she could swim or she could climb the trees. Considering she spent most of her free time climbing any available surface (this included buildings) Carolina promptly headed for the trees.

While it probably wasn't practical to keep her chalk bag and shoes clipped the back of her pants all of these items, carabineer included, were expensive. Carolina would be damned if she was going to drop any of them for practicality regardless of what kind of world she had gotten herself dropped into.

Luckily for her the grass was soft and yielding under her bare feet, what hadn't seemed like to bad a distance was becoming more realistic in her mind. Two football fields? Maybe three? There was more yipping behind her along with cackles that were much to human sounding for any sort of comfort.

Carolina wasn't much a runner but climbing exercised an amazing array muscles. She fell into an easy rhythm hoping to control any cardio problems that might pop up. She could make it, hide out in the trees until daylight and figure out a solution from there. She wouldn't have to wait long either already pink was starting to seep into the horizon on her left. The noises picked up, but now they were shrieking, whatever was out there had caught on to her flight.

Feet began to pound faster as panic crept at the edges of her mind, looking for a way in. Carolina could only hope she wouldn't twist an ankle or step on something now. She was close to the woods but she didn't enjoy the thought of trying to climb with one foot out of commission. Her mind had narrowed its focus, she could see nothing but the trees in front of her, the fact that the last time Carolina had been conscious she had been forced to face death no longer mattered.

As she entered the first of the forest Carolina scanned for an appropriate climbing tree. There! Without breaking stride she veered to the right and executed a jumpstart. She slowed so her strides were a little more measured and controlled before, with a final lunge, placing her right foot as high up on the trunk as possible before pushing off with that same foot. Both hands caught the branch and as steady as can be Carolina pulled herself up on the branch.

Once she was in the tree the panic began to subside. Oddly enough heights often did that for Carolina. Trees were not hard to climb once you got to the first branch, nevertheless she hurried, movements a little jerkier than usual. When she got to a suitable height she stopped a looked down.

Carolina hadn't imagined that her pursuers would be able to climb after her. At the moment she felt like hitting her head against something very hard. Not only could these _things_ climb, they had opposable thumbs. This alone made her brain scramble even more. This time the panic found its way into her brain.

Later that's what Carolina would blame her subsequent actions.

Above her were branches that had a good possibility of not holding her and an inevitable dead end, below her, well, there be monsters as the saying goes. What she really needed was to be in another tree. As the horde under her tree began to grow she searched the adjacent trees.

It was such a stupid idea, really it was. Carolina berated herself as she climbed to the branch she needed, a branch that was below her. Well what she needed was the branch from another tree that was perpendicular the said branch. Carolina's brain had begun to think laterally.

As a climber Carolina trusted her body every way possible, as a solo climber she knew how far she could push both her mind and her body. Still it took quite a lot of trust to come up with the idea the run along the branch to gain the momentum needed to jump to the other one. If she missed this jump her body would be to broken to continue to run away from her hunters.

Carolina was not a particularly religious person, still it was better safe than sorry, a quick prayer was sent up to whoever was listening.

She ran, eyes on the target branch, trusting her feet to go in a straight line. The jump was a simple one as was catching onto the branch. Regardless she almost missed.

"Oh shit!" Carolina was not exactly a tree specialist and therefore had no idea how damned springy her runway was.

Her left hand found its way to its target, rough calluses the only thing saving her. The jump should have carried a lot of momentum, something she was prepared for. Carolina was not prepared for her shoulder separating. (Again.)

Legs swung wildly as Carolina muffled a scream. Carolina could handle some pain but as she heaved onto the branch panting it all crashed into her. The pains, the fear, the panic, quite honestly she was familiar with the idea of death but even her limits were pushed. She scooted back tucking herself against the trunk clutching her injured shoulder. Carolina could pop it back into the joint, she had done so before, but something in her brain had gone off track.

The light was getting better, which was unfortunate since the sight in front of her was horrendous. Even with a working shoulder she couldn't keep hopping from tree to tree like a squirrel her body just wasn't built for that.

Fighting in Carolina's time was done in great distances, over which thousands of missiles and hundreds of bullets could be propelled. Yes there was the odd attack or crime of passion but people weren't _hunted_. When all the facts were looked at, nothing in Carolina's world could have prepared her for what was happening. Which was why she went into shock.

Her right hand was poised on the opposite shoulder ready to pop it back into place when her brain became mush and white noise filled her ears. Even when she had been falling to her death she hadn't had such a complete break down. The sight that caused this was the monster staring at her from her previous perch. Its companions were now swarming around her current tree, but on the branch she had just vacated one of the humanoid things stood staring at her with something cruel in its eyes.

It was then that she realized that these creatures were hunting her for sport. (Cue brain fuzz.) Carolina had gone hunting more than once, enjoyed it even. But she had never done so for sport, she would even send up an old prayer she had learned giving thanks to Mother Earth. (She was a bit more spiritual than she liked to admit.)

An involuntary shudder went down her spine. But as she watched the creature watching her, an arrow sprouted from its neck.


	3. Chapter 3

The second time it happened her ears managed to catch the preceding twang of a bow to her left. Carolina whipped her head around so fast she almost caused whiplash, but there was nothing to see. More soft twangs could be heard. Her head was much slower moving back, a large part of her didn't want to see the slaughter that was taking place below her.

The things began to run, a third of them lay still on the ground and apparently the creatures could feel hysteria. Hunters became the hunted and even the best evasion tactics couldn't have saved the horde of monsters. Arrow after arrow found their targets. Then the group of archers was off Carolina's eyes couldn't even follow them as they bounced through the trees. Blurs of a light cream color and gray flitted in and out of her vision.

"Hav sí." The voice was low and curt. Even if Carolina couldn't understand the words she knew a command when she heard one.

So she waited on the branch, trying to process everything that had happened. Even though the memories were there in her head the events were unbelievable. Nausea rose up and acid burned at the back of her throat. Oh…oh dear. Then Carolina was throwing up all of the protein-filled breakfast she didn't know she still had in her stomach. Wiped out and weak, she lay bonelessly on the branch like a jungle cat. The cool bark felt good on her flushed cheeks.

When the nausea came back and Carolina closed her eyes trying to keep calm. Dry heaving would be even worse. She felt a hand lay softly on her back; she focused on the soft touch taking comfort in its warmth. The owner of the hand started murmuring softly and slowly the nausea started leeching away. It moved up and down her spine then to her right shoulder and across to her left. A left shoulder that was still dislocated.

"Gah!" Carolina's eyes flew open and she almost fell of the branch at the shock of pain. (Inwardly she winced at the ugly sound she had just made.)

Hands caught her right below the ribs and kept her from sliding off the branch. The voice from before spoke but again Carolina could not comprehend the words. Growling in frustration she wrapped her legs around the branch and levered herself up. Keeping her eyes closed she explored her left shoulder trying to see if there was any other problems. A few pressure points later she determined it was just a basic dislocation, an easy fix.

"One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go." On 'go' Carolina went through the motions, swinging her left arm up so the joint would slip naturally back into place. Muscles all along her left side didn't so much as groan as shriek at her.

"Ugh." Again with the sounds. The process didn't take long but took all of her attention. So when Carolina looked up again she was surprised to find she had been surrounded.

Thirteen men dotted the trees around her, all tall, blond, and extremely dangerous looking. Cream blurs, came to her minds eye, she must have been seeing their ridiculously long hair. (Seriously, their hair was longer than hers.) They all seemed to be tall to, clad in grey they stood like statues all watching her with a guarded curiosity their hands all held long bows.

"Holy shit." She was mesmerized; it was a myth had come to life in front of her. Someone cleared a throat behind her. Make that fourteen tall, blonde, and strange men surrounding her.

"Are you the one who made the nausea go away?" The man's eyebrows furrowed. He nodded and said something incomprehensible.

"Excuse me?" Carolina was good with languages; she'd travelled all over the world to climb but nothing this man was saying would compute.

"Rúmil." It was the voice she had heard before during the counterattack. Carolina looked up to find one of the thirteen perched a few feet in front her. She surveyed is footing, perched was definitely the right word, he was on the balls of his feet leaning forward slightly. He looked like a blonde bird of prey. (The fact that he had a strong nose helped this image a lot.)

More strange words were spoken back and forth, Carolina just looked on in confusion trying to pick up any linguistic patterns like she would when she travelled.

The bird of prey looked back at her and said something. Carolina recognized when someone was trying to ask if she understood what was being said. It had happened a lot in Africa and China where there was to many dialects to count.

She dutifully shook her head. Carolina got a nod back, at least that seemed to translate.

He tried again, this time the language was harsher, much more Germanic sounding.

Carolina decided to test her own linguistic knowledge. "Was bedeutet das?"

Now everyone looked confused. Nevertheless the trading of languages continued. Carolina went through as many Latin, Germanic, Asian, and African language/dialects as she knew. It did no good. Mutual misunderstanding was decided upon.

The one behind her, Rúmil, and the bird of prey began a serious discussion. Their faces were carefully blank, but Mr. Bird began to tense his shoulders more and more as the discussion went on.

Deciding that she was thoroughly done with the whole situation, Carolina started looking for an exit. Unfortunately in this world it seemed red glowing signs were not yet invented.

Rolling her eyes at her own attempt at humor Carolina flipped herself on the branch so she was hanging on like a sloth. A little below and to her right there was a vacant branch. Letting go of both hands she latched on to the other branch. When she let go of her legs the swing was to be expected, and easily controlled and she levered herself back up.

Looking for the next branch she caught Mr. Bird's eye. She smirked and sent a small wave before finishing her descent. (To others it probably looked like a controlled fall.)

From there her attempt to exit, was stalled. Mr. Bird had some how managed to get down faster than her. Carolina decided she really wanted to know his trick; it would come in handy when during a speed competition. Then she realized she would probably never be a part of a climbing competition again. It wasn't like rock climbing was an ancient sport.

Climbing competitions had been a favorite of hers, there was no animosity, just good-natured competition and messing around on rock walls while waiting for the results. One of her favorite gyms had a challenge to sit in a chair, climb completely over the back and around (or under the seat and around if you were wanting a challenge) the chair and back to a sitting position. Carolina's mind went very far off on this tangent as she and Mr. Bird evaluated each other.

He was much taller that her. She wasn't exactly tiny at around 5' 7" but she wasn't a giant either. Nevertheless this man made her feel like she was practically petite. He was definitely in good shape but his frame was long and it made him look lankier than he probably actually was.

A strong hand on her upper arm yanked Carolina abruptly out of her thoughts. Mr. Bird was speaking to her. All of it went straight over Carolina's head, but his tone did not. Her eyes narrowed at how freaking condescending and arrogant the man sounded. He was also extremely long-winded.

Carolina flexed her bicep to loosen his grip before jerking herself away from the man.

"I don't know what you're tryin' to say but I really don't care. Do not touch me without. My. Permission."

The man seemed to step back for a moment without moving. Carolina found the only time she could get a read on him was when she was looking at his eyes so she maintained eye contact. He looked like he was trying to think through something and was rather disconnected from the moment, Carolina had a feeling she wouldn't like his decision.

She noticed as soon as his mind was back in the present. He nodded at her and held a hand out. Carolina rocked back on her heels. Putting her hand in his could mean anything; it could be a greeting, a sign of acceptance or trust. In this new world for all she new it could be a precursor to a duel. She looked back up into the trees, every single man was watching.

She brought her hand up and accepted his in a handshake. This seemed to confuse Mr. Bird for moment before he tightened his grip. She shook her hand once before letting go. Before she could completely lower her hand he caught her arm again, this time his hand gripped her forearm. It was a gesture that rang bells in her head, something that her handshake must have evolved from.

It also was the first step to the two of them understanding each other.

Almost as one tall, blonde, and dangerous men started dropping out of the trees, it looked like they just stepped off their previous perches to land softly on the ground. It was disgustingly graceful and made Carolina horrible envious for some reason.

Another part of brain was starting to realize there was no way these guys were human. At the moment it didn't freak her out.

One of them cut across her vision, shoving his way between her and Mr. Bird. He gave her a heart-stopping smile and pointed at himself.

"Rúmil." Carolina's eyebrows scrunched up and the strange name, she pointed to herself.

"Carolina." This time it was Rúmil's eyebrows that scrunched.

"Carolina." They way he said her name it was like he was rolling it around, trying it out to see if he liked it. Finally he smiled before turning and hooking an arm around Mr. Bird and pointing at him.

"Haldir." In this way she was slowly introduced to the whole troop.

Haldir watched quietly as the woman, Carolina, was passed around from elf to elf each of his men eager to introduce himself. She had repeatedly surprised all of them. After the scouts had spotted the band of orcs only one had stayed, prepared to help the human woman they chased. That same elf had already told him with a somewhat flourished description that the woman needed no help. Flourished because he severely doubted she had managed to jump off a tree trunk onto a branch. Haldir very much doubted many humans could do that, much less a woman.

But then again he had seen this same woman jump from one tree to another.

Her reaction to the attack was reasonable, he had seen many newly made Wardens lose their lunches before. But she had recovered fast, with Rúmil's help, and had even fixed her own arm. A grudging respect was for this woman was starting to bloom.

Now she was trying to leave.

He looked at Carolina, carefully taking note of her clothes, coloring, and severe lack of weapons. She looked like she was of Dúnedain lineage, but the way she was dressed was so incredibly odd. He had seen women wearing trousers before but these were scandalously tight and short, her shirt was the same and had no sleeves. There were shoes attached to the belt sitting cock-eyed on her waist but he had no idea how anyone could walk in them.

With so much skin showing and no weapons she was a ripe target for any man with a penchant for evil. Her body was slim and her skin had a deep golden color to it, but corded with muscle she must be a farmer of some kind, wandered away from home. His eyes narrowed, she didn't seem like a farmer though and when he had held out his hand, she had greeted him like another warrior would.

All in all she was strange and surprising in an unsettling way.

The question now was what to do with her. Did he let her go, utterly defenseless, out into the wild? The nearest village was miles away. Haldir didn't have any sort of Sight, his gifts lay elsewhere, but he was an elf and he sometimes got….feelings. Thoughts were nudged in a particular direction about what he should do, Haldir had found very early that when he ignored these nudges he did not enjoy the consequences.

Right now everything was telling him to ignore the rules and take this human to Caras Galadhon. Not only would Carolina be safe, but also the Lady of the Light might find a way to communicate with her.

Without realizing Haldir nodded, decision made.

* * *

I don't own Tolkien's stuff.

Thank y'all for the lovely comments I'm glad this story has gotten positive feedback. Sorry it's been a while but I've just started a new part-time job (yay!). This may have some mistakes because: a) I don't have a beta and b) I'm a bit trigger happy when it comes to posting things.

I also realized that most people don't have the ridiculous amount of mostly useless climbing knowledge that I do. OK so there is such a thing as solo climbing (also called free climbing), and yes solo climbers are even more odd than your regular climber. They're usually pretty quiet and intense. The climbing world doesn't really sensationalize these climbs but mostly the ones you hear about in the mainstream media are those who are climbing skyscrapers (look up the French Spiderman). There are tons of types of climbing and more are being developed most have strange names to boot (high-ball bouldering, buildering). Solo climbing is scary, and there are a lot of critics of it, there are climbing magazines that won't even publish articles about solo climbs.

Feedback=Fuel


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